Paint fumes

Can anyone tell me if paint fumes are bad for the fish. I am going to be decorating the living room next weekend and just thought about this now. I'll be painting all the woodwork, ceiling and walls so will this bother the fish.

I know yiu cant use air fresheners, sprays etc near the tank but what does everyone do about paint?

When we decorated & used an electric sander as well as paint fumes we made sure the tank was well covered with a sheet. Have as many windows open as you can stand in this weather

Put half an onion in the room, it helps to absorb smells

Is that sufficient then, MC? Just covering the tank with a sheet and, if so, how long did you keave the tank covered for? My front room walls are looking a bit grubby but I'm nervous about getting the place repainted...

We covered the tank all day... when the room dust had settled we uncovered it later on (left sheet on top, just lifted front up) but didn't open the lid to feed them.

Depending on what sort of lid you have, masking tape would be good to seal gaps where hinges are but I didn't bother. We actually sanded new plaster & the sheet did the trick...just a bed sheet

Oh thanks for that...now the only thing putting me off is having to move the tanks to paint behind them...

lol... i took out all decor, left the fish in an inch of water & slid it forward very carefully. We filled it back up & left it there for a few days then did it in reverse

Oh I know the method; I just have this paranoid fear of the tank glass cracking...

and they are not the lightesr things to move even if they are empty are they?

It nearly killed me lifting my 200litre tank from the car into the living room, it was murder!

easier just not to decorate isn't it

yes, lol or just paint a board & slide it behind the tank

Ant78 wrote:

easier just not to decorate isn't it

That's my excuse atm...won't get away with it for much longer though.

I decorated my room and the tank was fine with a dust sheet over. I did do a WC after, just to make sure